The fallen ones
by Blaxter1
Summary: What if the Durins were not the only ones to dies in or shortly after the battle of five armies ? This is my take on what could have happened and how the survivors feel in the time following the battle. I don't own any of the characters, they belong to Tolkien.
1. Chapter 1

_**The fallen ones .**_

**Chapter 1: Nori.**

Nori ran through the battle cutting down enemies to left and right , his face deathly pale, eyes hard and cold as ice . His thick mass of hair was in a thick braid down his back and his armor and knives and sword were stained with blood . He was filthy and sweaty, exhausted after several hours of unrelenting, bloody fighting, which had seperated him from the rest of the Company. He had fought well and brave, with all the fury, hate and determination that existed within him, but it hadn't stopped him from taking a few hits during the day. He was limping rather badly at his left leg, from a deep cut with from a particularly ugly orc's nasty blade, and he was afraid that it was one of those poisoned weapons that they were known to carry. He had a small cut in his face, from his forehead to his right cheek. He had used his knives and sword so forcefully that he had a couple of broken fingers on his right hand, he had a broken nose and bled from several minor wounds, but so far it was nothing life threatning – as far as he knew, but he wasn't too sure about that leg laceration which was very painful and bled quite a bit .

He had not seen any familiar faces for several hours , just ugly orcs and cowardly goblins, pale and dangerous elves- luckily fighting on his side- and unknown dwarves and men. So of course Nori was very worried about his brothers and friends, but there was just no time to look out for them. He dodged a sword coming his way and rolled around on the filthy, bloodstained ground, covered with bodies of both wounded, dying and dead . Then he felt a strange stinging sensation in his back – close to his left shoulder- and a grunt escaped his dry lips . He struggled to get back to his feet and then slowly limped on, not knowing where he was going, why everything was becoming blurry and distant and why he had no sword or knives in his hands. And why did it feel like something warm was dripping down his back , he felt with his hand for the hurting place and when he looked at it , it was covered in red blood. He was bleeding -badly- and he could feel his strength leaving him. And still there was something he had to do before he could lay down and get some much needed rest, there was something he had to se. Someone he had to find , to make sure that they were... But he could not remember for the life of his what it was and he felt himself unable to think much longer , so suddenly he found himself lying on the ground, resting his weary head on something hard and sounds of the battle were dying down and for some reason the burning sunlight on the sky seemed to grow bigger and bigger until all he could was that blinding light … And then everything was gone, fading into silence and darkness and he knew no more...

He wasn't found until the next morning, about fourteen hours after the battle had ended in a bloody , very high prized victory for the dwarves, men and elves and a loss for the orcs and wargs. Of the company the three royals had already been found, severly injured and the chances of anybody of them surviving were low. The king was still unconcious and was being treated by the best healers around in his tent, but he had suffered severe injuries; he had been pierces by three spears, hit by two arrows and had a nasty head injury. In another tent close to Thorin's, one could find the poor young princes, also fighting for their lives. They had been found close to their uncle, and it seemed that they had fallen trying to defend him from the orcs. Fili had been struck by an arrow in his lung and had taken a crushing blow to his gut, which meant that he had internal bleedings, and his left leg was missing from the knee down. He had been holding his little brother in his arms when they were found, so it was decided that they would be treated by healers in the same tent. Kili had suffered several stab wounds and had lost a lot of blood, and he had been hit by an arrow with poison , so he looked deathly pale, slightly green where he laid.

The others had started showing up in the hours after the end of the fight, one after another. Dwalin and Balin had supported each other into a healing tent , but they had only suffered minor injuries. The older of them had gotten a nasty cut in his face, and his right arm was broken and he had lots of bruises, but he was in rather good shape compared to most of the others still alive. Dwalin on the other hand had suffered a severe concussion and was very dizzy, blood ran from several deep lacerations to his bald head and arms , he had couple of broken ribs and they pressed on one of his lungs, which made it hard and painful for him to breathe. They were pale and exhausted and had seen just as much horror,death and tragedies as anybody else had , but they were worried about their king and their princes and looked around to see if anybody else from the Company was near. Oin was the first one they encountered, as being a healer, he had stayed away from the worst of the battle and helpt elven, human and dwarven healers prepare for the oncoming waves of wounded and dying. He was covered in blood and filth from the bloody , hard work he was so busy with. He stopped briefly on his way to Thorin's side, and greeted his old friends with a scrutizing check up .

They were cared for by a human woman, with much healing experience, and then they walked outside and started looking for other survivors, both from their Company and others. A couple of hours later Dori had come limping into camp, supporting his almost uncounscious youngest brother Ori. Dori was more or less in one piece, with a few minor wounds and a twisted knee, but Ori was pale from blood loss, due to a nasty wound in his side, and the eldest brother was extremly worried for him, and for Nori who had not yet been found. Only a few minutes later they were joined in the tents belonging to the Company's wounded , by a grim and blood stained Bofur, carrying the seemingly lifeless form of his cousin Bifur. After that they realized that Bombur , Gloin and Nori were still missing. Of course their kin and friends were incredibly worried about them, just as they worried about their king and princes and other wounded comrades, but there was so much work to do for those who could still help out, so there was not much time for them to think about them. So the hours passed and eventually Bofur found his brother stumbling into the camp, looking confused and dizzy and he was covered in blood, filth and gore. They were happy to reunite in despite of all the horror and tragedy around them, because Bombur wasn't as hurt as he looked, he was mostly exhausted and shocked.

The brothers walked back to the others to discuss how to look for Gloin and Nori in the endless mass of bodies and corpses. But as the hours passed and the morning after the battle came and finally Gloin was found, sitting pale and petrified by the side of a lifeless thief. Nori was deathly pale and body stiff and cold , he laid in a drying pool of his own blood from a nasty injury to his back and he had several minor wounds on display as well. It was obvious that he had been dead since the day before and that Gloin had been sitting with him for a long while. When he noticed Balin, Dori and Bofur standing there , pale and shocked, he got to his feet and said in a sad voice :- I found him like this just after the battle ended. He was already gone by then. I am sorry, Dori. There was nothing to be done for your brother. I am so sorry. He bent his redhaired head and stepped away from the body, when Dori gave a distraught outcry and launched himself at his lifeless brother, while the others stood sadly by, watching him clutch his brother to his chest, rocking him back and forth, sobbing desperatly , over and over saying his brother's name, begging him to wake up, promising to never fuss over or argue with him again, if only he would wake up. Even though the two oldest Ri brothers had been fighting many times in their lives and seldom gotten along, they had still loved each other and everybody knew that Dori was at heart just as protective of Nori as of young Ori, who was back in the healing tent, fighting for his life, and now he had lost one of the little brothers he cared so much about. It must be heartbreaking. Eventually Balin managed to convince him to carry Nori back to the camp to be cared for there, in preparation for his funeral. He slowly stood up and so heartbreakinly carefully picked up his dead brother and carried him in his arms the whole way back to the tents, where the others waited.

Of course many of them had feared that something had happened to the thief of the company, especially since he hadn't shown up to look for his brothers, but they were still shocked and sad to see his lifeless body placed inside a tent among other dead, which were waiting for to be cleaned up and prepared for their funeral. Dori was devestated as he watched over his brother and cleaned him up and covered his wounds as best as possible, and he wondered how he was going to tell Ori about this, if his baby brother survived of course. But he had to, he was all he had left, he could not imagine losing both his brothers. Nori was gone now , and as he took his goodbyes of his brother, tears ran down his face and he kissed Nori one last time on his forehead, so cold and pale now. Then he couldn't bare to look upon him anylonger- someone else would have to bury his brother, for now he had to look out for his other brother, and he knew that was what Nori would want. So he let the other members of the Company, at least those able to walk , take their turns entering the tent to say their goodbyes, while he returned to sit at Ori's side and had no time to worry about their king and princes and if they would survive. At this moment all he could think about was his family, or what little remained of it.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2. Fili and Kili.**

They had been never truly understood before, the horrors of the battles endured by their uncle,Balin, Dwalin and the other old warriors they knew. Neither Fili nor Kili had ever been a part of such a huge , bloody battle like the one they were fighting in right now. They had been seperated from the Company hours ago and since the only seen the cruel, disgusting faces of the orcs and their growling wargs, the pale, vicious fighting faces of the elves , the tired visages of the men from Lake Town and unknown dwarves who came from the Iron Hills. It was a real nightmare they were in right now, somewhere on the fields outside the gates of Erebor , surrounded by enemies that wanted to see them dead and allies who paid them scant attention. Fili was happy that at least he still had Kili close by ,so he could keep an eye on his little brother. He was fighting like a true son of Durin and Fili was sure that if Thorin could see them now, he would be proud.

So far neither of the brothers had gotten any serious injuries, but the battle was far from over and they knew that anything could still happen, but they had no time to worry about it. Fili shoved a orc who came too close to him back a few steps and then drove his sword straght through the ugly bastard's chest. For a brief second he could take a breather and look around to see what happened around him at the moment. He could see bodies of all the races covering the ground , see blood spilt everywhere and hear the cries of the dying and the wounded. Then Kili shouted something to him and he had no more time for thinking. A bunch of huge orcs – must be of the same kind as the evil leader of this army- Azog and his ugly son Bolg- had discovered the two brothers and came against them from all directions. They were dressed in armor covering their torsos and much of their legs and arms, but Fili could still see some vulnerable points on them, there he or Kili could strike them. The next moments became a blur of ducking and rolling to avoid swords and daggers and axes all over and he slashed and hacked at them as best he could . Then , somewhere, he heard his uncle shout :- Azog ! And automatically his eyes searched for his king, his uncle, the only father figure he could really remember.

A little bit further down the field a large area had been cleared up in the mass of the armies fighting each other, and he could see two figures circling each other in the middle of that space. One was a huge, pale orc – undoubtedly Thorin's nemesis, and he looked rather terrifying from where Fili stood. The shorter figure in an Erebor armor , weilding a familiar blade, with that golden crown on the head- it was Thorin, who else would dare to face down Azog once more ? The blond prince looked in desperation after someone who could come to Thorin's aid- preferably someone like Dwalin- but none seemed to be near the two old enemies facing each other, perhaps for the last time. Then , once again, Fili was distracted, this time by a shout in pain from Kili. He turned around faster than ever and started running back to his little brother , shoving enemies and allies out of the way with little regard to his own or other's safety. All he knew was that he had to get to his brother and then they had to try and help Thorin.

While Fili had been fighing for his life and discovering the meeting between their uncle and Azog, Kili had been standing on a rock , firing every last arrow he had brought with him to the fight , and his aim was good as ever and he had felled dozens of orcs who tried to get to him or his brother. In his spare moments he had noticed Fili turning away to stare at something further down the slope and at the same time had fired away his last arrow, hitting one big ugly thing in its head, who had planned on taking Fili's head off, while the golden prince was distracted. Then Kili had drawn his sword and jumped down from the cliff, into the fury of the raging battle below, and he cut down enemies everythere he turned , while still keeping an eye out for his brother. The dark heired prince fought as bravely as anyone of his line had ever done and those who witnessed it were in awe of the surprising strange and power that seemed to flow from his skinny young frame and arms who vielded that blade like few others his age would be able to do.

Kili fought himself closer and closer to Fili and helped a few eleves to bring down one of Azog's leutanants on the way, an overgrown , lumpy freek with horn like teeth grinning in rage as they cut him to pieces. Then suddenly everything changed, when he was just a few metres away from his brother, seperated only three orcs, two elves and three dwarves. A burning pain exploded in his right shoulder and he yelled out in pain and stumbled , not really understanding at first what had happened. But he felt with his left hand on his shoulder and sensed that a enemy had stabbed him with a knife , and already he had a strange feeling of dizziness and confusion, just like he had felt after being struck in the leg by that poisoned arrow not so long ago. " Crap, that is not good ", was all he could think, before forcing himself to focus on bringing down the orc that had wounded him and then tried to reach his brother, who had heard his yelling and now was fighting his way back to his side. Eventually he cut down the last enemy standing between them and then Fili was at last by his side again.

- You okay, little brother ? He asked and taking a quick peek on Kili's shoulder, who was bleeding freeily, but so far it was not life threatning . - It hurts like hell , but I will be alright, the younger prince promised and looked at his brother with calming brown eyes. Fili frowned and looked unconviced, but then he remembered their uncle and that desperate situation. -We will have to deal with that later , Kee , right now we need to get to uncle , who is fighting Azog again. Kili's eyes widened and he nodded shortly and they started making their way down the sloping ground , cutting down enemies left and right , while catching several minor injuries before they were closing in on the fight between Thorin and his great enemy. The scene that met their eyes was shocking and dreadful and they started running to help their beloved uncle . Thorin had put up a good fight – Azog had lost his warg and had a nasty gut wound that they would not like to see close up , and he limped angrily towards the fallen form of Thorin, who had been pierced by at least three spears to his back , stomach and right leg. Kili's sharp eyes could also see the arrows protruding from his uncle's back and the blood running down his pale white face from that horrible head wound between his dark locks. - No ! Fili shouted in terror and flung himself in between their motionless uncle and the threatning form of Azog, who stepped back slightly in surprise, allowing Kili to run up to his uncle and lean over him. - Thorin ? Can you hear me ? Please, say something , uncle , are you still with us ? Please, you can't leave us,we and all of Erebor will need you more than ever after this nightmare is over, Kili begged and tried to stop his uncle's wounds from bleeding more.

His uncle opened his blue eys and managed somehow to focus on the anxious, scared face of his youngest nephew and he smiled vagulu .- Kili... You are alive , I thought... He coughed and blood stained his pale lips , to the horror of the young prince.- Hush uncle, we'll take care of you, just hold on. I just need to help Fili avenge you. We'll be right back , he promised and tears shone in his dark eyes. Thorin tried to protest but had to helplessly watch his nephew dart back to stand by his brother's side and take on the enemy that had done so much damage already to their family. For a while they managed to fight the beastly orc and they gave him more wounds than anyone had in a long time, but then he swung his club in his normal hand and struck Fili hard in the chest and stomach , making him fly high above the ground, before landing with a heavy thud on the bloody ground and he screamed in pain. Kili went even paler , but rage overtook him , a cold, white fury inherited by the line of Durin woke in him and he attacked the shocked orc more vicously than ever. Not caring about the times Azog's blade sliced him or stabbed him in his sides , sholder and legs , he finally pulled an unexpected move-he threw himself up in the air from a rock he had climbed and his bloodied sword cut the air and struck its target... At the same time as Kili landed again, on his knees, weakening from a heavier and heavier blood loss, he saw Azog's white head fall to the ground and the still stunned look on his face, and then the giant body fell to the ground. All around him it went completely silent when those who had witnessed the battle saw the leader of the orcs die like that .

That was nothing Kili could think about right then, all he could think about was getting to his uncle and brother who somehow had fallen close to each other. But then he was almost there a strange howl in black speech could be heard behind him and then he felt a arrow pierce his chest , and he was certain that it was poisoned. He screamed, for this new pain was more unbearable than anything else he had felt so far , and then he felt his legs give out and he fell to the ground and struggled to breathe, while a huge figure loomed above him, looking strangely familiar. But then he heard his brother's furious yelled and from out of nowhere he threw himself against this new foe , blades clashing against each other , growls, curses and shouts sounding every now and then. Then he heard Fili scream again, but this time his brother's voice sounded like he was choking and when he turned his flickering eyes to the scene his heart broken when he saw the arrow in his brother's chest, and judging by the blood he was currently coughing up it had hit his lung. And then the nigtmarish scene grew even worse as the huge orc- the son of Azog- sent his warg upon the defensless Fili and Kili had never heard a worse sound than the scream his brother omitted when he leg was caught in the beast's foul mouth and he was flung around like a broken toy. Then Kili had to witness the loss of his brother's leg and watch his brother being dragged over to his own side and Fili was such a mess, hardly recognizable anymore. Then Bolg bent down over them, grinning a horrible smile and said in a broken form of westron :- I kill you now. So end Durin's line. That meant that he knew whom they were now . But just when everything looked the bleakest ever something attacked Bolg from behind, something invisible. That meant that it could only be little Bilbo Baggins, that brave, odd hobbit who had done so much for them and Thorin before he took that blasted Arkenstone. But Kili was fading now , just like his uncle a few metres away , and his brother by his side , and the last thing he felt was Fili taking him into his arms and the tears falling into his hair, then everything went dark...

The king and his nephews had been easier than most of the Company to locate and brave and not to badly hurt dwarves carried them so carefully as possible on stretchers to the camp where healers waited in various tents. Of course Oín was the first healer to care for his king and princes, but he saw straight away that he needed every possible help he could get, even if it meant asking the elven healers for aid. Of three Thorin was deemed the most critical and for some reason that cold, arrogant elven king himself took over the care for his old foe , something that shocked everybody. Óin worked by his side for some hours, than he ran off to the next tent to see how the princes were doing. It was just as bad with them and as the hours passed neither showed signs of waking up or improving. The poison in Kili's blood was spreading rapidly and nothing seemed to stop it this time, not even kingsfoil. And as the day of the battle passed and turned into night, then the next day, when Thorin finally woke up to ask for news of his boys and the others, they all had to realize that before the day was over both the princes would leave this world.

Kili died without having woken once, due to the nasty poison on the arrow who had hit him the day before . He was followed by his brother within two hours, but for some reason Fili had woken for a short while before his passing and the news of his brother's death had broken him. The fact that he himself was dying and would probably soon be followed by his uncle as well just made him sadder and his last words to Balin and Dwalin who stood there was :- Tell uncle that I am sorry for letting him down. I let my brother down and now he's gone. Tell Thorin that no father could have been better to us than he was and I love him so much , and I am so proud to be his nephew . Tell ma that I am sorry for not being able to protect Kili and bringing him home again. I am sorry, my friends. Then he simply closed his eyes again and his spirit left his body . When Thorin was informed of this before his own passing he wept and his heart was broken for the two boys he had loved more than anything and had helped raising and considered his own sons. But he spoke with the others as much as that was possible and got Bilbo Baggins's forgiveness, before the last Durin followed his heirs to the Halls of Waiting and left the remaining Company and survivors in a state of grief that was rather unprecedented .

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3; Thorin and the sons of Fundin.**

When Thorin woke up in his tent after the battle he knew that his time was short . He knew that his line was ending, for he had seen his boys fall and how badly hurt they had been before he passed out and he knew that they were already waiting for him in the Halls of Waiting. Tears burned in his eyes when he saw their faces in his mind, remembering those sweet and funny and adorable little children they had been for what seemed not so long ago. His boys, the nephews who were the closest thing he had to his own kids , his heirs and pride... They had died like heroes , like true heirs of Durin and he couldn't have been more proud of them or more heartbroken , knowing that they had died too young , too soon , instead of him who had lived for so long and done so many terrible things these last few weeks . Fili had been so much like his father Gili , from his blond hair, strong body and handsome face with the Durin's blue eys , to his skills with the blades , his protective nature , cleverness and bravery , and Thorin had always felt that Fili would when the time come make the greatest king under the mountain seen in centuries. But now he was gone and would never have the time or chance to mature into a great king and take his throne after Thorin's passing. And Kili … His youngest nephew , looking so much like both Thorin and his mother, but even more like their long lost brother Frerin, and with the same reckless , adventerous personality , bright smile and tendency for sticking out among dwarves. Oh , how he had loved them and now his broken heart felt only darkness and despair and heavier guilt than ever for he had broken his promise to Dis , that he would watch over her sons and keep them alive.

His own injuries were bad and he could see it in the faces of those around his bed, the healers looked sad and hopeless and he knew that they could do nothing for him, except dull his pains from the terrible wounds, but they mattered little to him , compared to the loss of the boys. They had informed him almost as soon as he opened his eyes about the passing of first Kili and then Fili, hours earlier. When Balin and Dwalin finally entered his tent – he had requested for them to come as soon as they could – they looked at each other and all three knew the same thing. His oldest friends looked battered and weary and burdened by grief and for a long while neither spoke, but then Balin placed his hand on Thorin's shoulder and looked at the broken shadow of the king .- I am so sorry , Thorin, he said and tears shone in the wise old eyes. - We tried so hard to find you and the boys and when we finally did... - I know, Thorin whispered hoarsley .- They did it to protect me, even though I haven't done much lately to deserve it. They died because of me . He closed his eyes and the grief displayed on his pale , weary face was heavier than anything his cousins had ever seen in him, despite the other tragic losses he had endured. - They did it to protect their king, Thorin , said Dwalin unusally gently and he looked almost as sad as the king, for he had helped raise and train the boys.- But they shouldn't have , they had their whole lives ahead of them. And I took it from them , because of that damn stone and my goldsickness. - Rest easy , Thorin, said Balin and took the dying king's hand in his. - The boys did it because you were like their father and they loved and respected you more than anything. - I will at least see them again soon, right ? He looked at his friends with tired , wet blue eyes and they could only nod , for they knew that he had only hours left.

- Tell Dis that I am so sorry for everything , and take care of her when I am gone, she is going to need it . - Of course, shield-brother, said Dwalin and looked at his best friend with pain in his eyes. The battle had been hell on earth for all of them and the outcome so far was more than Erebor was worth to the survivors . They had fought side by side but rarely seen any of the others, at least not until afterward, when they found out about the princes and Thorin and then had found the others stumbling in to the camp , or like with Gloin and Nori, still among the bodies and wounded. They had waited for hours to be allowed to see Thorin – after seeing first Kili and then Fili die , they had mourned together , side by side, outside the tent of their dying king. Their wounds captured Thorin's attention and he remembered the other members of the Company, besides his nephews and Oin, who had gone to check on other patients , and asked :- I am glad to see you resonably alright, my friends. But what do you know of the others ? They looked at each other and then Balin said quietly :- So far we have lost the boys and Nori, I am afraid. And soon you will join them , I am so sorry for that. - Oh , Thorin sighed and grimaced when he grew dizzier .- Poor Nori, he who was so eager to change his life and start over here in Erebor with his brothers. How are they ? - Dori will be alright, but he is heartbroken by the loss of Nori and terrified that he will lose Ori as well, for he lies in a tent nearby and has yet to wake up. It seems that he lost a lot of blood and it is still pretty much touch and go for the lad. - He has to make it, I can't take all the youngsters with me to the halls of Mahal, I can't … Make sure that he survives, for his sake and for Dori, who I am sure really needs him. Then he looked at Dwalin and said :- And the others ? Gloin and the Ur family ? His friend looked down and muttered :- Gloin isn't hurt too bad... But he is in shock after finding Nori and the whole battle and everything, he is sedated right now and Oin checks on him as often as he can. I guess that when his family arrives one day , they will help him get on . Old Bifur is pretty seriously injured, somehow he lost the axe in his head and that is a nasty wound , so he is fighting for his life like Ori . Bofur is alright and like always taking care of his kin, so he refuses to leave his cousin's side . As for Bombur, he has minor wounds and is mostly exhausted and shocked by everything that happened, so he rests with his family.

Thorin took the news in silence and closed his eyes again, seemingly falling asleep , but when Balin quietly said to Dwalin that maybe they should go and wait outside, Thorin opened his eyes again and spoke in an even weaker voice than before :- Tell them all how sorry I am for causing all this trouble and make sure that all of those who survive get more than their share of the treasure , do everything you can to help them find a suitable home inside Erebor and make their lives as comfortable as possible , as well as for yourselves. And make sure that Bilbo... the hobbit.. Master Baggins get what he truly deserve. Make sure to recall that idotic banishment I gave him for everything he did for us. Suddenly he looked worriedly at them :- Have you found him yet, is he alright ? Is he as mad as he has all right to be ? - We have not seen him yet, but we and Gandalf make sure that people still searching the fields look for him. Sleep now , Thorin , and we will go out and search for him. We will come back when it is time to say goodbye. - Good, said the king and smiled weakly before dosing of into unconciousness again.

At that point the sons of Fundin left the tent and went out to tell the others who were awake how their kings was faring and discuss with Dain what would happen after Thorin left, for they all knew that he would be the next king under the mountain. Finally Gandalf showed up with their burglar hobbit by his side, looking pale and stunned by everything that had happened. Oin hurried up to check him over and noticed that he had a nasty headwound and bump on his head, which Bilbo explained by having been knocked out by a rock or something during the battle. He seemed happy to see his friends, but very sad for the young princes and Nori and worried about those still alive, but wounded and fighting for their lives. Meanwhile , some of the others had been visiting Thorin to speak with him one last time and when Bilbo was informed that Thorin wanted to see him and talk things out with him, he went pale for he understood that the king was dying and he worried about what he would say to him after their last meeting and everything that had happened since then. But he followed Oin inside the tent while Balin and Dwalin went into the tent where Bifur and Ori fought for their lives, surrounded by their kin and a sleeping Gloin. Dwalin sat down with a heavy sigh on a chair and looked around on the remains of the Company and suddenly the tears fled his reluctant eyes and drenched his face. Nobody said anything, but he felt eyes upon but, but he didn't care about hiding his feelings for once, he knew that they understood , considering the battle they had all endured the day before and the consequences that they were only now seeing . Suddenly he felt strongs arms around him and a forehead touching his own and he knew that it was his brother, of course, he would never have allowed anybody else to touch him and hold him like this in such circumstances. Now all he could do was lean his head against Balin's and cry out his despair for their king and princes , whom with the exception of Balin were the people he had loved most in the world. Their old home had been reclaimed and the enemies defeated, but the heirs of the throne was dead, their king dying , the thief whom he had hated back in Blue Mountains, but had come to respect and understand more during the quest , had perished as well and nobody knew what would happen to their scribe and the excentric toymaker , and the rest of them were just a mess right now . What would happen in the future ? He cared nothing about anything except his brother right now and he knew that soon they would have to go and see Thorin one last time .

And so they did about two hours later and they wept , but listened to his final word to them and Bilbo Baggins . Not much later they saw their king and cousin close his eyes and gone was the last true heir of Durin, the remaning descendants were not of the same line and it would be up to Dain to take the throne instead. But right now the survivors mourned for their king and princes and the thief who had befriended them all during these months and worried about what would happened to those who still fought for their lives...

TBC...


End file.
